Secrets of the Job Hunt

Thursday, December 11, 2008

With fast rising unemployment rates across the country, many professionals are looking for new ideas on how to be proactive and leverage technology in the job search process. Responding to accounting jobs ads and waiting for the phone to ring is simply not proactive enough in a deepening recession. This article provides a starting point for thinking outside the box with your job search.

"I have sent out hundreds of resumes and the phone isn't ringing!” is common feedback Atlanta-based SearchLogic Recruiting is hearing right now from marketable candidates, notes owner Nate Rozell.

"We saw this last back at the end of 2001 and 2002. From all the available data and our own observations it appears the job cuts will be deeper and the unemployment rate will be higher this time but it isn't permanent and things could be a lot worse. Job seekers looking for work in the Greater Atlanta area have the advantage of sheer volume of companies including the number of corporate headquarters and diversity of industries."

The company is encouraging people to leverage technology in a way that they never have in the past. One example is the use of social networking sites. In the past few years sites like LinkedIn and Facebook have reached a tipping point for entertainment and business use. LinkedIn has over 20 million users now and Facebook has almost 700,000 people in the Atlanta Network alone. These sites facilitate networking which is so critical without ever leaving the house.

Rozell encourages candidates to make their LinkedIn profile read like a well crafted resume and marketing presentation so as to make a lasting impression. Site members can even insert examples of work or presentations using a new Google application that integrates with Linkedin. The point is make the investment of time to learn how to use these sites effectively.

Furthermore, once you have a list of companies looking to hire, use the LinkedIn People search to find hiring manager contacts at these organizations. It is ok to send your resume directly to Human Resources or the Corporate Recruiter but you may get further faster if your resume lands in the inbox of the person doing the hiring. Make it a goal to reach multiple contacts within an organization because maybe one person finds interest where another does not.